1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to data loss prevention (DLP) systems and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for verifying print jobs to prevent confidential data loss.
2. Description of the Related Art
Within a typical computing environment, small to large organizations generate a significant amount of mission critical data related to various operations (e.g., business transactions, administration, resource management, manufacturing, providing services, and/or the like). The mission critical data may include confidential data (e.g., non-public fiscal policies, trade secrets, legal documents, employee's personal data (e.g., social security number, credit card number), intellectual property, business strategies (e.g., marketing and/or production plans), source code and the like). Such confidential data may be inadvertently or intentionally communicated from an endpoint (e.g., a computer, a laptop and/or the like) to a peripheral device, such as a printer.
Printers, for example, may be installed in common areas (e.g., a community printer) and represent potential points of confidential data loss because the printers are easily accessible to many employees. A coworker may accidently or intentionally obtain documents containing the confidential data. The coworker may also withhold these documents from management and leave the facility with the confidential data. In some instances, the printer may be located at a remote location (e.g., at another floor, at another building and/or the like) and/or the user may forget to collect the printed documents. As such, the printed documents containing the confidential data may be unknowingly disclosed to unauthorized employees and visitors. These printers cannot determine which documents include the confidential data and which do not. The printers simply process one or more print jobs and execute instructions for printing various documents.
Various Data Loss Prevention (DLP) software programs are employed to detect and prevent the confidential data loss from various endpoints (e.g., computers) but are unable to instruct the printers to authenticate the print jobs for documents having the confidential data before printing. The DLP software programs simply employ a brute force approach to disabling these print jobs. However, a user may still desire to print one or more documents that include the confidential data. For example, an inventor may desire to print an Invention Disclosure Form (IDF) for review and discussion with a patent filtering committee and/or the like. Current data loss prevention software programs, unfortunately, are unable to verify the print job for the IDF.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a method and apparatus for verifying print jobs to prevent confidential data loss.